Selective Enrichment of Sialylglycopeptides Enabled by Click Chemistry and Dynamic Covalent Exchange

Despite the important roles of protein sialylation in biological processes such as cellular interaction and cancer progression, simple and effective methods for the analysis of intact sialylglycopeptides (SGPs) are still limited. Analyses of low-abundance SGPs typically require efficient enrichment prior to comprehensive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based analysis. Here, a novel workflow combining mild periodate oxidation, hydrazide chemistry, copper-catalyzed azide/alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) click chemistry, and dynamic covalent exchange has been developed for selective enrichment of SGPs. The intact SGPs could be separated easily from protein tryptic digests, and the signature ions were produced during LC-MS/MS for unambiguous identification. The structure of the signature ions and corresponding dynamic covalent exchange were confirmed by using an isotopic reagent. Under the optimized condition, over 70% enrichment efficiency of SGPs was achieved using bovine fetuin digests, and the method was successfully applied to complex biological samples, such as a mouse lung tissue extract. The high enrichment efficiency, good reproducibility, and easily adopted procedure without the need to generate specialized materials make this method a promising tool for broad applications in SGP analysis.